Sewing machines typically generate heat and must be cooled for continued operation. Maintaining an adequate air circulation is an effective way to prevent overheating. Conventional sewing machines have thus employed various cooling devices, such as a fan, to direct a cooling flow of air to an oil plan to prevent overheating.
Another problem, seemingly unrelated, in sewing machines is that loose threads and cloth pieces may interfere with the sewing operation and damage the sewing machine. Thus, conventional sewing machines have employed various devices, such as suction devices, to remove waste materials from the work area, and gather them into a waste housing or collector.
Although a sewing machine may incorporate both functions, two motors are conventionally required: one to drive the sewing machine and its cooling fan, and the other to drive a waste suction device within the sewing machine. Such sewing machines having both motorized functions are bulky, complicated, and expensive.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sewing machine having improved cooling and waste collection systems which are less expensive, more efficient, and more economical than convential types of systems.